Stealth job searches are tough to pull off

Sunday

Dec 30, 2012 at 6:00 AM

Joyce Lain Kennedy CAREERS NOW

Q After sweating through nearly four years of a stressful job, I can hardly wait to leave it. My concern is financial. I can't afford to be fired for looking around, which is what would happen. What can I do to keep news of my job search undercover? — No Initials Please

A A stealth job search has always been tricky to pull off without risk. In this age of digital exposure, the risk has shot up to red alert. Any day, I expect an insurance policy to pop up offering policy holders coverage of lost income when they search for a new job on the quiet, get caught and are fired.

Having said that, your risk is affected by how hard you are to replace and your relationship with your manager. Assuming there's no bad blood between you, managers aren't eager to endure the hiring process unnecessarily. Situations vary widely. Here are pointers on keeping a tight lid on your search:

If your smartphone were lost or stolen, what information would someone be able to access? That's the question recently addressed by the nonprofit Privacy Rights Clearing-house in San Diego.

Do you, for example, sync your personal and work email accounts on your phone? Are your messages archived? Are sent messages accessible? How far back do they go? Do you have apps installed that provide direct access to your social networking accounts, including Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn? Read all about privacy and your smartphone on the clearinghouse's website, privacyrights.org. Don't miss the organization's fact sheets.

Browse for Google's privacy policy and understand what user data may be spread from one Google product to another, including Gmail. Similarly, revisit privacy policies for all social media that you use.

Write “Confidential” atop your résumé and cover letter. During an interview, emphasize the need to keep your meeting quiet. If the job is what you want, and you anticipate an offer, say that you'll be happy to have your references checked with previous employers, including your current employer, once you've been hired. But until then, you'd appreciate confidential treatment.

Begin your search with several selected independent recruiters, as well as trusted professional and personal friends. Open networking is risky in a surreptitious search — talk travels. But you can increase your visibility in professional organizations and position yourself to hear about good job leads.

Anticipate who you will need as references, clueing them in on your undercover search as your faith in their discretion allows.

Make it very clear to potential hiring authorities that no contacts can be made at your present workplace until you accept a written offer, conditional on satisfactory references. (Don't chance buyer's remorse — get the offer in writing.)

Tell absolutely no one in your workplace that you're outward bound. Carry a disposable cellphone to step out of the office and return calls to a new unlisted number that rings only on that phone. If you're really worried, establish a new unlisted number for your home phone as well.

Dress normally at work; keep an interview change of clothing nearby. Be wary of too many dental appointments, sick kids and floods in your kitchen, or other cover stories for interviewing getaway time. Employers weren't born yesterday.

If your boss discovers your undercover search, be ready to stand and reason. Practice a confrontation in advance. Say that no one really wants to make changes into the unknown, but that for the following reasons — enumerate them — you are being forced to look elsewhere.

Your goal is to remove emotion from the discussion and perhaps work out an improved situation where you are, or to buy time. If the situation blows up, offer a quid pro quo: If you're not forced out, you'll train your replacement on your own time.